City of Edinburgh Council

We achieved the first ranked status on the City of Edinburgh Council’s Housing Property Asbestos Framework. The Council’s housing portfolio includes around 20,000 properties, ranging from multi-storey tower blocks on the outskirts of the city to 17th-century historic buildings in the heart of Edinburgh’s old town, near the Scottish Parliament and The King’s official residence in Scotland. Each property presents unique challenges, such as working with vulnerable tenants, location, access, and security.

To date, we are nearing our 1,000th project under this contract, which covers both planned and reactive asbestos removals, including licensed, notifiable non-licensed, and non-licensed asbestos works in both tenanted and void properties. The company ensures full compliance with health and safety standards. Jobs have varied from small-scale floor tile removal to textured coating and AIB removal within occupied properties, and thermal insulation removal in communal spaces.

Licensed works have involved the removal of Asbestos Insulating Board (AIB) in various forms, particularly within confined spaces such as underground cable tunnels. Additionally, we have conducted decontamination of insulation debris and pipe insulation at a large boiler house on a gas terminal.

The framework requires extensive collaboration with the incumbent asbestos consultant and other trades to achieve a unified goal. Many removals occur in complex locations with restricted access, necessitating careful planning around outages and specific time frames.

All council works are subject to air monitoring, so we regularly collaborate with appointed analytical organizations, developing strong working relationships to successfully coordinate works, especially in occupied properties.

Monthly contract meetings are held to monitor progress, and we have consistently met and exceeded the contract KPIs for scheduled works as well as emergency (4-hour) and urgent response with out-of-hours attendance.

Managing the contract involves dealing with both the asbestos and project teams, as well as other council departments, sub-contractors, and tenants. This requires regular and effective communication and the ability to react, prioritise, and adapt to changing situations. We work closely with the asbestos housing team to provide solutions, and the office and site teams have the experience and capability to handle the sensitivities that asbestos activities can create.